


happenstance

by Xamem



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chance Meetings, F/M, Lee? From the tea shop?, Short One Shot, Zutara Week 2020, day 1: reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25540243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xamem/pseuds/Xamem
Summary: Katara has started taking refuge in Ba Sing Se's tea shops when she decides to try the Jasmine Dragon. She hadn't expected to find a familiar face.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 42





	happenstance

Katara had found solace in tea in the midst of everything. Long hours of pasting their posters on city walls, asking every merchant and exotic animal seller they could find, had resulted in Appa’s doleful eyes haunting her wherever she turned. Most tea shops in the upper rings had a “no solicitation” policy, which included missing posters of any kind, so they became a place she could distance herself. And while the city was disturbingly quiet on the war, the tea shops were different. Rather than an oppressive denial, they offered a safe space for escapism.

You can imagine the young waterbender’s surprise, then, when Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation, enemy number one, the very face of the war to her, placed a steaming cup of jasmine in front of her. She stared at his fingers around the handle of the porcelain cup, all the way to the puckered scar tissue of his left eye.

“Enjoy,” he murmured, not making direct eye contact, not even looking her _direction,_ which was the least he could’ve done, really. The reunion Katra had been preparing for involved a lot more ice on her part, not these awkward pleasantries.

“Zuko!” she hissed, not wanting to make a scene. She didn’t like or trust Zuko, but she hadn’t forgotten how his uncle had helped them in the North Pole.

She also remembered, even more vividly, Zuko’s anguished look as Azula lashed out.

Zuko whipped around at the utterance of his true name, his good eye widening in panic. It narrowed when he processed where it had come from.

“Katara?” It was strange, to hear her name in his voice, usually so angry, now so soft. She’d expected him to call her ‘peasant’ or something equally insulting, or even to just start throwing fire at her. “What are you _doing_ here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Is your uncle...?” Katara swallowed the end of her question, unsure if it was appropriate for her to ask. But she had to know if letting them go had been the right choice. She hadn’t told anybody in the group, but the sight of Zuko barely containing tears over the body of his uncle, alive but so wounded, had haunted her. Zuko wasn’t exactly known for his healing hands.

“He’s in the back, adding _love_ or something equally as asinine to the tea.” Though he said it with a groan and an impressive eye roll, Katara didn’t miss the hint of a smile on his face. She allowed herself to relax, just a bit. If his uncle was in charge of this shop, she could trust it, just a little bit.

“I’m glad to hear it. I... I was worried.”

Zuko sheepishly ran his hand up and down the back of his neck, fussing up the short crop of hair that had grown. “Thank you for offering. I should have let you heal him. But I was proud, and stubborn, and afraid. I...”

Katara surprised herself and Zuko by taking his hand. He stared at her dark fingers, feeling unexpected heat crawl up his cheeks. “I’m just glad he’s okay,” Katara said as the silence began to drag.

“Ahh, um, yes! He’s better now. And we have this tea shop! Well, you saw that already,” Zuko said, his words rapid-fire and running together in his rush to let them escape. “And we, we’re good now! Or we’re trying to be, and I go by Lee, so, don’t call me... My old name.” He gestured towards her cup of tea, still steaming, probably cooled to the perfect temperature. “I’ll let you drink your tea now.” He spun on his heel and hurried back to the kitchen, praying Katara hadn’t seen the flush of his face.

Of course, nothing could get past Iroh, and he immediately cornered Zuko, grinning from ear to ear. “Nephew, your face is on fire! Did that pretty little girl you went out with last week come back? I have more coupons for her!”

“No,” Zuko snapped, trying to push past him. When Iroh made it clear escape was inevitable, he sighed. “Katara, one of the Avatar’s friends, was out there. It was a... strange reunion.”

Iroh patted him on the shoulder, returning to his latest batch of tea. “Well, sometimes life’s best surprises are the most unexpected.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based off that one tumblr post about a Perry the Platypus style meeting of Katara and Zuko at the tea shop where she wants to throw hands but like, manners, but not exactly because it's just a random encounter before the Earth King stuff. Short and sweet. Hope you liked it, and HAPPY ZUTARA WEEK!!! <3


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